I wrote two weeks ago about the loss of William G. Tapply and Stuart Kaminsky, two of my favorite authors. Well, a few days after I writing that post, I checked Stuart Kaminsky’s latest an maybe last novel in the Porfiry Rostnikov out of the library and returned to Moscow. It was good to be among old friends, Porfiry, his wife Sara, son Iosef and his fiancé Elena Timofeyeva, and Porfiry’s other team members Emil Karpo, Sasha Tkach, and Arkady Zelach.
As usual the story lines were all interesting. While Porfiry was on the trail of the Bitsevsky Park Maniac, a serial killer who was trying to set the record for the most murders by a Moscow serial killer, Sasha and Elena were protecting a British journalist Iris Templeton, who was researching a Moscow prostitution ring. Arkady and Iosef had their hands full hunting down Ivan “The Giant” Medivkin, a heavyweight contender, wanted for the murder of his wife and sparring partner, who were found dead in a Moscow Hotel. In the background of all these events swirl the undercurrents of Russian political intrigue , and family life, as Iosef and Elena are set to marry, and Sasha, while sleeping with the women he is protecting still pines for his wife and children, who are in Kiev (having left him for his infidelities).
So while the book may not be confused with War and Peace (it’s only 256 pages) to me it was still a good read and Porfiry, it was nice spending time with you and your family and friends first in the Soviet Union and then Russia, you will be missed!